Asset forfeiture to the police?

[daepp]

The police should not be allowed to keeps the cash/cars/assets they seize. The possible conflicts of interest and the possible additional lawbreaking it encourages

The airwaves around So Cal lately have been filled with news spots telling listeners that if they picked up cash that was thrown from a vehicle of fleeing felons they better return it because they were filmed by multiple sources. It turns out that the Feds gets to keep that money, and they are threatening everyone they can in order to get "their" dough!

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FEDERAL COURT — All that cash fluttering and flying across San Diego freeways Thursday during a high-speed chase was not actually government money – not yet, at least.

Nonetheless, federal authorities want it returned – all of it. Now.

How much? According to a complaint filed in federal court Monday, there could have been $225,000 tidily arranged in a bag inside a Ford F-150 pickup driven by two suspects.

Those two, Paul Loaiza and Zacarias Felix-Cutino, are among seven people charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana as part of a long-running federal drug investigation. The remaining defendants were arrested by Friday evening, and all seven appeared in court Monday.

Five were ordered detained without bail. Two others had bail set, and a second court appearance is scheduled for today.

So far court records say the government has collected about $40,000, meaning as much as $185,000 could still be out there.

Or maybe not.

Eileen Zeidler, a spokeswoman for the DEA, said yesterday that the agency has not tallied all the money that has been returned since the chase ended Thursday evening.

She said last week that the agency believed it recovered most of the money. Yesterday she said authorities believed they had a “substantial amount” of the cash but added they do not count the money bill by bill at the scene, and will not count it all until later.

“With the money continuing to come in, we have a substantial bit more than $40,000 now,” she said. But there is “still a large amount of money” not yet returned, she said.

She said the agency is talking with prosecutors about potentially bringing charges against people who don't turn in the money. The cash is evidence in a criminal investigation, she said – just as a knife or gun hurled from a fleeing car would be.

According to court records, undercover agents had arranged to sell 500 pounds of marijuana to the ring for $225,000. A meeting was arranged for Thursday evening in a Mission Valley parking lot.

There, Loaiza grabbed a bag with “bundles of money” neatly stacked in it from the back seat of the pickup and showed it to an undercover agent. All agreed to finalize the deal at another location nearby and all drove away.

Agents then requested a San Diego police car that was aware of the operation to pull over Loaiza. That is when he took off, racing up and down freeways, with bundles and bills of cash flying out the car windows.

Evening commuters stopped and scooped up the bills. The chase ended in Carmel Valley, with two arrests, no injuries – and no money in the bag.

Even though the money was not government “flash money” – cash brought by undercover agents to a drug sting – and belonged to the defendants, the government still has a claim on it.

“Under the law, it doesn't belong to them (the defendants) anymore,” said Jan Ronis, a San Diego criminal defense lawyer who has worked on many drug cases. “It was money utilized to commit a drug transaction, so it becomes forfeitable.”

It was also likely cash from earlier drug transactions the ring may have been involved in, and can be forfeited for that reason too, he said.

Ronis said there might be another motive for why the government is pushing so hard for its return, including raising the specter of prosecution.

“Look, clearly it's evidence and clearly it's the government's money because it is forfeitable,” he said. “But they're probably pretty embarrassed they let the money get away. That's why they want it back.”

Possible charges could run from theft, to tampering with evidence, to possibly obstruction of justice or – a stretch here – money laundering, Ronis said.

Authorities said they will review videotapes of the chase as well as information from other drivers who saw people picking up money, and apparently wrote down or photographed license plates

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-laVItRHCNI

[widebody911]

The asset forfeiture laws are one of the biggest travesties of justice - ever. The gov can clean you out without so much as a criminal complaint.

[m21sniper]

All this over pot dealers. WTF.

I agree 100% with the tyranny of siezure laws. We can all thank Ronald Reagan for those.

[Jeff Higgins]

We have long since given up due process on a number of fronts. It's for the children.

[RoninLB]

grab $10k

return $1k

[The Gaijin]

I think it is in the Magna Carta.

[daepp]

How about requiring all seized assets donated to charity???

[strupgolf]

Originally Posted by daepp

How about requiring all seized assets donated to charity???

Now that's one of the most intelligent ideas I've heard in years. That makes so much sense that anyone who opposes it would look like a fool, especially the cops. The only thing you see today is more and better lights on the new cop cars, because as we all know, it's for the children.